Health & Public Health is a fundamental concept and a constitutional mandate in India, though it is not an expressly guaranteed fundamental right. The concept's origin is ancient, with evidence of advanced environmental sanitation in the Indus Valley Civilization. Modern public health administration began during the colonial era, with the Montague-Chelmsford Reforms of 1919 transferring Public Health to the provinces. Post-independence, the 1946 Bhore Committee Report prioritized healthcare reform.
The concept works primarily through the State's obligation under the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) and judicial interpretation. Article 47 of the Constitution imposes a duty on the State to improve public health, raise the level of nutrition, and the standard of living. Crucially, the Supreme Court has interpreted the Right to Health as an integral part of the Right to Life under Article 21. For instance, in Consumer Education & Research Centre v. Union of India (AIR 1995 SC 922), the court ruled that the right to health and medical aid is a fundamental right for a worker.
Public Health connects to the constitutional division of powers, as public health and sanitation is placed under the State List (Entry 6) of the Seventh Schedule. It also connects to other DPSP provisions like Article 42, which mandates securing just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief. The concept is operationalized through the National Health Policy (NHP), first created in 1983. The NHP has changed recently, with the National Health Policy 2017 replacing the previous policy of 2002. The NHP 2017 aims to increase government health expenditure to 2.5% of GDP by 2025 and focuses on achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC), a key policy shift.